ECCA National Cross Country Relay, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield

Back to earth at Mansfield

Belgrave performances at the National Cross Country Relay Championships at Berry Hill Park tend to match the switchback terrain: one year up and the next one down. There's absolutely no margin for any error or weakness as so many clubs can turn out four men to run a fast 5k each. In 1996 we turned up for the first time with Messrs Gerry Adams, Matt Yates, Darren Mead and Gary Staines feeling confident we'd win it. What a shock that turned out to be as we could get no higher than 5th while Bingley and Coventry Godiva both ran 59:56 to set a course record. It took seven years before we turned up again, this time with Steve Sharp, Spencer Barden, Paul Freary and David Anderson, whose 59:36 was a winning time that still stands as the record today. Since then we've managed 2nd, 8th, 8th and 1st.

With many men missing for one reason or another, we were down to only three regular front liners with one more man to be pulled in from the Sutton Park 'B' team to face up to the speedsters, either on first leg or last. Paul Freary eventually got the nod and he opted for first leg. Our aim was a final place in the top ten and if everything went like a dream, maybe a sniff of the medals.

Paul had been storing a special pair of spikes for the day he got back into the cross country relay team. For two years they'd been sitting on a shelf but when the day came they didn't bring him any luck. A position in the 50s was expected with a time somewhere in the high 15s. Ok 75th was down a bit further back than we'd thought ... but Paul's time was way down on what we all hoped for. It was going to be "interesting". As usual, Steve Vernon's yellow Stockport vest had led the field.

Charging through the throng on leg two Stephen Sharp raised our colours a staggering 41 places, overtaking at will on the broader paths and still pulling back places as he approached the end, his eyes scanning the massed crowd of outgoing runners for Nick Goolab who was waiting to slap hands before he took his turn. Forty-one places ... and yet, curiously, it was Steve's slowest ever run on the circuit.

Celebrating the award of an Under 20 England vest for the following week's Lotto Cross Cup race in Belgium, Nick was eager to let rip. It was so difficult to know where we were now as runners were being lapped wholesale. Several times Nick had to bide his time in the woods, unable to get past on the narrow paths and then pushing his foot to the floor when a gap opened. But his was a cracking run and we were up to 17th.

Wells City Harriers were now in charge, going through the takeover area six seconds ahead of Morpeth Harriers. Sadly for them they had been unable to raise a fourth man for their squad and their show was over. The Beagles and Notts AC weren't far behind but, "You know who's going to do this? It's gonna be Bedford." was the opinion of those in the know.

What a courageous run from our master-blaster Phil Wicks, full of head cold but still prepared to give everything he'd got to raise us further still. By now he was among the best clubs on the course ... Tipton, Blackheath, Coventry, Aldershot ... they all fell to his stride. Running 8th best time of the day Phil achieved our aim, taking the Bels into 7th place.

It was a terrific effort and a real achievement but of course it was tinged with a measure of disappointment that on this occasion we'd been unable to reach the heights to which we've been accustomed. And the times were strange, too, surely slowed by the severe wind at the top end of the lap. Interestingly, if we'd front-loaded the team, which was always a possibility, we would have set out on the last leg in first place as Wells fell by the wayside. Would we then have placed 7th? Who knows? But you can't win 'em all ... and getting pushed out of the medals certainly sharpens the appetite for further success.

Men's 4 x 5k: 1 Bedford & County AC 1:01:09.80; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:01:29.20; 3 Morpeth H & AC 1:01:36.60; 4 Notts AC 1:01:43.50; 5 Sale H Manchester 1:02:19.65; 6 Leeds City AC 1:02:24.80; 7 Belgrave H 1:02:57.10.

P Freary M40 16:47.95 (75); S Sharp 15:45.65 (34); N Goolab U20 15:22.50 (17); P Wicks 15:01:00 (7).

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.